Sandra Fluke

Will somebody please tell Sandra Fluke to shut up? Her fifteen minutes of fame are over and every time she opens her mouth she simply shows off how stupid she is ( "Musings on intolerant lefties and wars on women," May 18). There is no constitutional right to free contraceptives and the Hobby Lobby decision neither denies her access to contraceptives nor puts her employer in the position of making - and lets be honest about this - sexual relationship decisions for her. In fact, it empowers her to make her own sexual relationship decisions by spending her own money - which, by the way, is how it should be. There is no constitutional right to Viagra or any other erectile dysfunction medication either.

Will somebody please tell Sandra Fluke to shut up? Her fifteen minutes of fame are over and every time she opens her mouth she simply shows off how stupid she is ( "Musings on intolerant lefties and wars on women," May 18). There is no constitutional right to free contraceptives and the Hobby Lobby decision neither denies her access to contraceptives nor puts her employer in the position of making - and lets be honest about this - sexual relationship decisions for her. In fact, it empowers her to make her own sexual relationship decisions by spending her own money - which, by the way, is how it should be. There is no constitutional right to Viagra or any other erectile dysfunction medication either.

Rep. Todd Akin's fame - more accurately, his infamy - now reaches all the way to the Congo. There, Eve Ensler, the award-winning American author of “The Vagina Monologues” and herself a survivor of rape, wrote an open letter castigating last week's suggestion by the Republican congressman that when a woman is a victim of “legitimate rape,” her body has means of preventing pregnancy. As it happens, Ms. Ensler is in the Congo working to help some of the thousands of women raped in the fighting there.

Random observations for your reading pleasure: •When have you ever heard about a group of conservative students shouting down a campus speaker, invading and occupying a campus building or pressuring a school to withdraw a candidate for an honorary degree? Well … never. Yet today's headlines are full of left wing faculty and student demands for ideological purity within the ivory tower. All of which raises a question: Why do college lefties feel so free to engage in such activities?

Todd Akin's idiocy appears to be infectious. The evil genius of the Missouri congressman's comments is that they lend themselves to such broad interpretations -- and misinterpretations. By now his remarks are familiar, but just in case ... Mr. Akin told a local TV interviewer: "First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. " He continued: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

One of the first rules of politics is to re-energize the base when in trouble. Rarely have we observed such adherence to the rule as in the case of President Barack Obama. Economic growth is anemic. The high expectations (and optimistic predictions) that followed passage of the economic stimulus are a distant memory. A stubbornly high unemployment rate brings monthly negative headlines. There are more Americans living in poverty than ever before. And $5 trillion in new debt has caused at least one Wall Street rating agency to lower the country's credit rating.

Random observations for your reading pleasure: •When have you ever heard about a group of conservative students shouting down a campus speaker, invading and occupying a campus building or pressuring a school to withdraw a candidate for an honorary degree? Well … never. Yet today's headlines are full of left wing faculty and student demands for ideological purity within the ivory tower. All of which raises a question: Why do college lefties feel so free to engage in such activities?

Rush Limbaugh's recent, despicable three-day attack against law student Sandra Fluke cast a spotlight on a national campaign by Republicans to turn back the clock on 50 years of progress on women's health issues. But his attacks were not the first attempt to silence Ms. Fluke and the voices of millions of women like her. Two weeks earlier, I had requested Ms. Fluke's testimony at a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on a rule announced by the Obama administration to require employer health insurance to cover contraceptives.

In response to the recent article by Kim Geiger ("Limbaugh stands by words in clash on contraceptives," March 3), I would just say that if it necessitates extreme commentary to identify and expose the absurd demands of Sandra Fluke, than so be it! Instead of focusing on the content of Ms. Fluke's demands, the Democrats and their liberal media cohorts are slamming Rush Limbaugh and painting the Republicans as anti-women. This is typical rhetoric of the left, using diversionary tactics to spin and distort facts for political gain!

The first apology by Rush Limbaugh, posted on his website over the weekend, sounded forced, qualified, almost defensive. The second, broadcast live on his Monday show, sounded sincere and heartfelt. Rush Limbaugh did something not usually associated with either himself or bombastic talk radio. He apologized for calling a woman a "slut" and a "prostitute. " The woman, 30-year-old Sandra Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University, wants the Catholic school to pay for contraceptives in its insurance policy because, she says, she and her friends cannot afford the cost otherwise.

Todd Akin's idiocy appears to be infectious. The evil genius of the Missouri congressman's comments is that they lend themselves to such broad interpretations -- and misinterpretations. By now his remarks are familiar, but just in case ... Mr. Akin told a local TV interviewer: "First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. " He continued: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

Rep. Todd Akin's fame - more accurately, his infamy - now reaches all the way to the Congo. There, Eve Ensler, the award-winning American author of “The Vagina Monologues” and herself a survivor of rape, wrote an open letter castigating last week's suggestion by the Republican congressman that when a woman is a victim of “legitimate rape,” her body has means of preventing pregnancy. As it happens, Ms. Ensler is in the Congo working to help some of the thousands of women raped in the fighting there.

One of the first rules of politics is to re-energize the base when in trouble. Rarely have we observed such adherence to the rule as in the case of President Barack Obama. Economic growth is anemic. The high expectations (and optimistic predictions) that followed passage of the economic stimulus are a distant memory. A stubbornly high unemployment rate brings monthly negative headlines. There are more Americans living in poverty than ever before. And $5 trillion in new debt has caused at least one Wall Street rating agency to lower the country's credit rating.

Rush Limbaugh's recent, despicable three-day attack against law student Sandra Fluke cast a spotlight on a national campaign by Republicans to turn back the clock on 50 years of progress on women's health issues. But his attacks were not the first attempt to silence Ms. Fluke and the voices of millions of women like her. Two weeks earlier, I had requested Ms. Fluke's testimony at a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on a rule announced by the Obama administration to require employer health insurance to cover contraceptives.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings' piece ("Why I demanded a voice for Sandra Fluke," March 21) resonated with me as a family physician in and a resident of Baltimore City. Every woman should have access to affordable contraception, regardless of where she works or her socioeconomic status. As part of the legislative process, hearings are necessary. But to silence women in this process is uncalled for. Today, I write for Sandy, who works at a Catholic hospital in Baltimore. She came to me seeking help for her heavy, long periods.

The Baltimore Sun's op-ed page is valuable real estate. One would hope it would provide a home for people with interesting, creative, perhaps unorthodox perspectives on current events. This is what I have not seen from Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. whose views track closely with the current right-wing talking points. Mr. Ehrlich's most recent column ("Musings on intolerant lefties and wars on women," May 18) is a prime example. It includes an attack on "college lefties," then on Sandra Fluke's "desire to enjoy taxpayer-financed sex" (Obamacare attack, part 1)